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Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts

About the series

“To a valiant heart, nothing is impossible.”

-epitaph for Mary Anne Rennolds (1922-1989)

The Department of Music at Virginia Commonwealth University has presented the top chamber music performers in the world to Richmond audiences for more than thirty years. VCU Music’s series, originally founded as the Terrace Concerts, debuted in 1983 in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Today, the series is named in honor of Mary Anne Rennolds, one of Richmond’s greatest music patrons. A fund was established in her memory to present chamber music events in Richmond, independently of the Terrace Concerts. We cordially invite you to become a part of the premier chamber music series in Richmond. Please call 804-828-1169 for more information.

Artists and programs subject to change.

The internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet is one of the most dynamic ensembles of their generation. Praised by The Strad for possessing “maturity beyond its members’ years,” they were formed at the Juilliard School in 2003 and made their professional debut in 2007 as part of the Artists International Winners Series in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. From 2011-2013 they served as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet, and for the 2014-2015 season they were selected as the Quartet in Residence by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As stated by The Washington Post, “Mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades.”

The Attacca Quartet performs extensively throughout the United States and abroad. The group also presents an ongoing series at Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan entitled “Based on Beethoven,” featuring performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets. The Attacca Quartet currently serves as the Ensemble-in-Residence at the School of Music at Texas State University.

The Attacca Quartet recently completed a recording project of Haydn’s masterwork “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross,” arranged by Andrew Yee and the Attacca Quartet. In his review for Gramophone, Donald Rosenberg wrote, “The Attacca Quartet explore the work’s range of expressive moods with utmost sensitivity to nuance and interplay …. They triumph in every respect, and are captured in such vivid sound that no telling Haydn detail is allowed to go unheard.” The WholeNote wrote, “It’s easily the most satisfying string version of the work that I’ve heard.”

In 2013, the quartet released the complete works for string quartet by John Adams on Azica Records. It was praised by Steve Smith of TheNew York Times as a “vivacious, compelling set,” describing the Attacca Quartet’s playing as “exuberant, funky, and … exactingly nuanced.” The Boston Globe also praised the release, stating, “Few [recent recordings] are as consequential as ‘Fellow Traveler,’ … superb performances.” The album was the recipient of the 2013 National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. The quartet has been honored with both the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association and the Lotos Prize in the Arts from the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation.

Tickets:$35 General Admission
$32 Seniors (60+) / VCU Employees / VCU Alumni Association members
$25 Children (16 and under)
Free for VCU Music students and VCU Music faculty – E-mail musictix@vcu.edu to reserve

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, (CMS) is one of eleven constituents of the largest performing arts complex in the world, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which includes the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater, and The Metropolitan Opera. The performing artists constitute a revolving multi-generational and international roster of the world’s finest chamber musicians, enabling CMS to present chamber music of every instrumentation, style, and historical period.

One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of young American musicians, pianist Orion Weiss has performed with the major American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. His deeply felt and exceptionally crafted performances go far beyond his technical mastery and have won him worldwide acclaim. Named the Classical Recording Foundation’s 2010 Young Artist of the Year, Mr. Weiss made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 2011 as a last-minute replacement for Leon Fleisher.

Recipient of a prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, Taiwanese-American violinist Paul Huang is quickly gaining attention for his eloquent music making, distinctive sound, and effortless virtuosity. He continues his association with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for three separate tours in the US, Europe, and Asia, and returns to Camerata Pacifica as a principal artist. Mr. Huang, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, won the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

Violist Paul Neubauer’s exceptional musicality and effortless playing led the New York Times to call him “a master musician.” Appointed principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at age 21, he has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras. He has premiered a variety of viola concertos and has been featured on CBS’ Sunday Morning, A Prairie Home Companion, and in Strad, Strings, and People magazines. A two-time Grammy nominee, he has recorded on numerous labels. Mr. Neubauer was recently appointed artistic director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey and is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Mannes College.

Cellist Keith Robinson is a founding member of the Miami String Quartet and has been active as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist since his graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music. He has had numerous solo appearances with orchestras including the New World Symphony, The American Sinfonietta, and the Miami Chamber Symphony, and in 1989 won the P.A.C.E. “Classical Artist of the Year” Award. Mr. Robinson hails from a musical family and his siblings include Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and Hal Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Hailing from Marietta, Georgia, double bassist Xavier Foley has captivated audiences “with superbly executed performances… playing fluidly and passionately” (Splash Magazine). Mr. Foley has appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, Nashville Symphony, the Brevard Concert Orchestra, the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and with the Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall and recently debuted with Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Foley captured First Prize at the 2014 Sphinx Competition and at the International Society of Bassists Competition in 2011. He was the winner of Astral’s 2014 National Auditions.

Tickets:$35 General Admission
$32 Seniors (60+) / VCU Employees / VCU Alumni Association members
$25 Children (16 and under)
Free for VCU Music students and VCU Music faculty – E-mail musictix@vcu.edu to reserve

Seraph Brass is a dynamic brass quintet drawing from a roster of America’s top female brass players. Committed to engaging audiences with captivating programming, Seraph Brass presents a diverse body of repertoire that includes original transcriptions, newly commissioned works, and well-known classics.

Seraph Brass has toured throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. They have performed multiple concerts at the Lieksa Brass Week in Finland, and they were the featured ensemble at the International Women’s Brass Conference. Seraph has performed concerts at the Forum Cultural Guanajuato in León, Mexico, Dame Myra Hess Concerts in Chicago, Gettysburg Concert Association, Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, SUNY Cortland, Jamestown Concert Association, and they have toured extensively as Allied Concert Services artists. Seraph is on the roster of the Manhattan Music Ensemble. They performed with the Rowan University Wind Ensemble, performing Rick DeJonge’s Prelude and Fantasy under the direction of Joseph Higgins. Many members of Seraph Brass have performed with Adele on her 2016 North American tour.

Committed to commissioning new works, Seraph commissioned and premiered “Wolf” for solo soprano and brass quintet from Philadelphia-based composer, Joseph Hallman. Seraph has commissioned new works by Catherine McMichael and Rene Orth, featured on Asteria. Seraph has also premiered Lucy Pankhurt’s Ouroboros with euphonium soloist Hélène Escriva at the International Women’s Brass Conference. Seraph also has many original arrangements by trumpeter Jeff Luke, featured on Asteria and Seraph Brass Live!

Members of Seraph Brass have performed with such esteemed ensembles as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Musicians from Marlboro, Luzern Music Festival in Switzerland, National Symphony, Brass Band of Battle Creek, Daejeon Philharmonic in Korea, and Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. They hold positions in the Richmond Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Artosphere Orchestra, Tennessee Tech University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Louisiana State University, University of Richmond, and North Carolina School of the Arts.

Tickets:$35 General Admission
$32 Seniors (60+) / VCU Employees / VCU Alumni Association members
$25 Children (16 and under)
Free for VCU Music students and VCU Music faculty – E-mail musictix@vcu.edu to reserve

Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy-winning, artist-run quartet of classically-trained percussionists hailing from the great city of Chicago. For over ten years, the ensemble has forged a unique path in the musical landscape with virtuosic, energetic performances that celebrate the extraordinary depth and breadth of musical possibilities in the world of percussion. The ensemble has been praised by TheNew York Times for “commandingly elegant” performances, by the Washington Post for the “rare power” of their recordings, and by by the Minnesota Star-Tribune for “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity.” The four members of Third Coast are also accomplished teachers, and since 2012, have served as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

A direct connection with the audience is at the core of all of Third Coast Percussion’s work, whether the musicians are speaking from the stage about a new piece of music, inviting the audience to play along in a concert or educational performance, or inviting their fans around the world to create new music using one of their free mobile apps.

Third Coast Percussion maintains a busy touring schedule, with past performances in 32 of the 50 states plus Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, and venues ranging from concert halls at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and De Doelen to clubs and alternative performance spaces such as New York’s Le Poisson Rouge and the National Gallery’s West Garden Court.

Third Coast Percussion’s recordings include three full-length albums, three EPs, and a number of appearances on other releases. The quartet has put its stamp on iconic percussion works by John Cage and Steve Reich, and Third Coast has also created first recordings of commissioned works by Augusta Read Thomas, David T. Little, and Ted Hearne, in addition to recordings of the ensemble’s own compositions. In 2017 the ensemble won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble performance for their recording of Steve Reich’s works for percussion.

The four members of Third Coast Percussion met while studying percussion music at Northwestern University. Members of Third Coast also hold degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, the New England Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music.

Tickets:$35 General Admission
$32 Seniors (60+) / VCU Employees / VCU Alumni Association members
$25 Children (16 and under)
Free for VCU Music students and VCU Music faculty – E-mail musictix@vcu.edu to reserve

Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world’s most renowned string quartets and has been a leading proponent of Latin American music for over thirty-five years. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the quartet has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, China, Japan and New Zealand. They have premiered over a hundred works, and they continue to introduce new and neglected composers to the genre. Winners of two Latin Grammys for Best Classical Recordings, they have also been awarded with the prestigious Diapason D’Or, have been recognized with the Mexican Music Critics Association Award, and have received three “Most Adventurous Programming” Awards from Chamber Music America/ASCAP.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano’s members are three Bitran brothers: violinists Saul and Aron and cellist Alvaro, with violist Javier Montiel. They have recorded more than 80 CDs, including nearly the entire Latin American repertoire for string quartet. Volume 6 of their Villa-Lobos cycle of 17 string quartets on Dorian, was nominated for a Grammy and a Latin Grammy for Best Chamber Music Recording. Their albums “Brasileiro, works of Mignone” (2012) and “El Hilo Invisible” (2016) won Latin Grammys for Best Classical Recording. Their recording of Inca Dances by Gabriela Lena Frank, recorded with Manuel Barrueco, won the 2009 Latin Grammy for Best New Latin Composition.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano has performed with many orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, Ottawa’s National Arts Center Orchestra, the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, the Dallas Symphony and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela. They have performed in some of the world’s most distinguished halls and music festivals, including the Concertgebouw, Teatro alla Scala, the Esterházy Palace, the Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Ojai Festival.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano served as the quartet-in-residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for 20 years and have been recipients of the México en Escena grants given by the Mexican government through the National Fund for Culture and the Arts.

Tickets:$35 General Admission
$32 Seniors (60+) / VCU Employees / VCU Alumni Association members
$25 Children (16 and under)
Free for VCU Music students and VCU Music faculty – E-mail musictix@vcu.edu to reserve